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IEEE provides a wide range of quality publications that make the exchange of technical knowledge and information possible among technology professionals. This essential content, categorized below, is delivered through the IEEE Xplore® Digital Library.

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The following FAQs are often asked by authors, publication volunteers, and IEEE Xplore® users who are not familiar with IEEE policies and procedures as related to general copyright issues. For a full list of FAQs related to a variety of IPR matters, please visit the IEEE Publications Support Center.

Copyright is one of a group of intellectual property rights (or laws) that are intended to protect the interests of an author or copyright owner. In other words, these laws give an author/owner nearly exclusive control over the use of his/her work.

When an author signs the IEEE Copyright Form, he/she is transferring ownership of the copyright rights in the work to the IEEE. In other words, IEEE becomes owner of the paper when the author signs, dates, and submits a corresponding IEEE Copyright Form.

Does IEEE consider authors posting their papers on preprint servers or on their companies' websites to be a form of prior publication, which may then disqualify the papers from further editorial consideration?

No. IEEE policy allows authors to submit previously posted papers to IEEE publications for consideration as long as authors are able to transfer copyright to IEEE, i.e., they had not transferred copyright to another party prior to submission.

A trademark is a name, title, or graphic design intended to identify an entity or product. When a trademark is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, broadly exclusive rights are obtained by the owner.

What should be done when a charge of plagiarism is brought against an author?

Plagiarism is a serious breach of professional conduct, with potentially severe ethical and legal consequences. Therefore, IEEE and its constituent bodies strongly condemn such misconduct and shall vigorously investigate all allegations of plagiarism involving IEEE authors and/or IEEE publications.

In the event an author or publisher brings a charge of plagiarism against an IEEE author or an IEEE publication, the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the sponsoring entity's publication should become the primary authority to initiate, conduct, and finalize a review of the charge. Authors and editors can also contact the IPR Office at copyrights@ieee.org for advice and information about IEEE policy on plagiarism.

Fair Use refers to a set of ideas or concepts intended to limit (under specific circumstances) the near-exclusive rights of the copyright owner. However, because Fair Use is a doctrine and not a fixed body of laws, no generally applicable definition is available.